Apple is preparing to crack open CarPlay's voice assistant ecosystem to rival AI chatbots, according to a Bloomberg report. The move would let drivers interact with ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini directly through their car's dashboard instead of fumbling with their iPhone. It's a quiet but significant retreat from Apple's typical walled-garden approach, signaling the company recognizes Siri alone won't cut it in the AI arms race that's now reaching into automobiles.
Apple is about to make driving with AI a whole lot more flexible. The company is quietly developing support for third-party voice-controlled chatbots in CarPlay, letting users choose between ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude, Google Gemini, and potentially others instead of relying solely on Siri, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Right now, CarPlay users who want to access these more capable AI assistants need to reach for their iPhone, navigate to the app, and hope they're not already on the highway. The upcoming integration would eliminate that friction, bringing voice-controlled AI directly to the car's dashboard interface where drivers can safely interact with it hands-free.
But Apple isn't surrendering complete control. The company reportedly won't let users replace the Siri button on CarPlay or change the wake word that summons Apple's assistant. Instead, drivers will need to manually open their preferred chatbot's app before they can start talking. It's a compromise that keeps Siri front and center while acknowledging that users increasingly want access to more advanced AI capabilities.
Developers will get a workaround, though. They'll be able to configure their apps to automatically launch into voice mode when opened in CarPlay, which could make the experience feel nearly as seamless as invoking Siri directly. For , , and Anthropic, it's a valuable foothold in the automotive interface - a space where has historically maintained iron-fisted control.
